


in the night, you'll hear me calling

by brokenshards



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Canon Era, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-18
Updated: 2016-01-18
Packaged: 2018-05-14 17:06:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5751205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brokenshards/pseuds/brokenshards
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Season 3 AU. Morgana is conflicted, and Arthur is missing her. Just for a night, they both forget the rest of the world. (Written on tumblr for the prompt: "Just this once.")</p>
            </blockquote>





	in the night, you'll hear me calling

The moon was full as Morgana wandered around the castle, a rare nightmare having woken her. She was shaken, her healing bracelet left in her room from where she had thrown it in a fit of rage. She wasn’t used to these feelings anymore, and she was mad at herself for being so weak.

Somehow she found herself at Arthur’s door, and despite her instincts screaming against it, she opened his door and crept inside.

The rustling of her gown across the floor must have made enough noise to startle Arthur, for he woke up as she entered the room.

Arthur sat up, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. “Morgana?” he asked, surprised by her appearance. “What’s wrong?”

Morgana held in the harsh laugh that threatened to escape. He was still concerned for her, even now. She found herself telling the truth, “I had a nightmare.” It was of him, always him. The sight of his death still turned her stomach, despite her own attempts on his life.

Arthur watched her for a moment, wary. She hadn’t talked to him in what seemed like forever, but he could never turn her away. “Come here,” he murmured.

She sat next to him on the bed, leaning into his warmth instinctively. It was something that she hadn’t allowed herself to do in a long time, and it was nearly too much. She blew out a long breath, looking down at her trembling hands. “What’s wrong with me?” she hissed at herself.

Arthur reached out and grabbed her hands in his, getting her attention. “Hey,” he whispered, “You’re alright.” When she shook her head to disagree, he pressed, “Look at me.”

She reluctantly looked up at him, her eyes brimming with angry tears.

“Everything is going to be fine, I promise.”

Morgana pulled her hands away from his grip. “Stop being so nice. There’s no reason to pretend that you want me here.”

He started to get defensive, but he stopped short. “When have I ever pretended with you? If I’m annoyed with you, you’ll know.”

Morgana’s lip curled up into a half smile before she stopped herself. As if to purposefully annoy him, she revealed, “I’ve been avoiding you.”

“I know,” Arthur replied. After a beat, he added, “I’ve missed you.”

She scoffed in disbelief. “You don’t mean that.”

He laughed quietly, replying, “You know, I was surprised too. I used to long for days when you weren’t nagging me about something, but when you stopped, I actually kind of missed it.”

“Please, you have plenty of other people to bother you.”

“Yes, but no one does it as well as you,” he returned, smirking in amusement.

Morgana almost laughed, his humor infectious. “I think I might have missed it too. Frustrating you used to be quite the entertainment.”

He chuckled in her stead. “Well, I missed you showing up in my room whenever you damn well pleased. Kept me on my toes.”

“Guess I’ve rectified that one.”

“That you have.” He watched her closely, noting the dark circles under her eyes. “What was your dream about?”

Morgana shook her head, beginning to shut down again.

Arthur didn’t press, instead he decided he’d make up for lost time. “Merlin turned my laundry pink today.”

Perking up at that, Morgana asked, “What?”

“He left a red shirt in the mix or something. My best shirts have all been ruined, so if you don’t see me in white for a while, you’ll know why.”

A hint of a smile was returning, but she still was debating leaving, her head too conflicted for her to think straight.

Arthur continued on, “I also beat all the knights in training, yet again. You should probably start sparring with me again, I think you actually might be more of a challenge for me.”

“Might be?” Morgana asked, her intrigue winning out for the moment.

“Well, it’s been a while, you’re out of practice.”

“That’s what you think,” Morgana retorted.

“You may have to prove that to me.”

Visions of herself stabbing Arthur flashed through her mind, and Morgana shut her eyes. “Maybe you can just take my word for it.”

Arthur once again reached for her hand, and something like electricity shot through both of them.

They sat in silence for a minute before Morgana spoke. “I think I missed this part the most,” she murmured, her voice barely a whisper.

“What’s that?” Arthur asked.

“Just, being close,” she admitted. “You’re occasionally not horrible to be around, I’d forgotten that.”

He would normally be offended, but she had finally smiled at him. “I’d forgotten a lot of things about us,” he choked out, his voice thick.

“We were almost good together, weren’t we?” she asked.

“Better than either of us realized,” he answered.

Morgana met his eyes, her guilt threatening to drown her. “Arthur, I’m so sor–”

Before she could finish, Arthur cut her off, his mouth covering hers in a kiss. His lips were warm and soft, and even though it only lasted for a moment, Morgana found herself breathless as he pulled away.

“Arthur…” she whispered, not trusting her voice.

“Just this once,” he murmured. “Then I can go back to missing you, if that’s what you want.”

There were so many reasons why this wasn’t a good plan. For one, she was supposed to hate him-- but strangely she needed him now, and she wanted to keep him for as long as she could. Just for tonight, she could have him, then things would go back to the way they were. Leaning back into his chest, she hovered over his lips, breathing, “Just this once,” before melting into his kiss once more.


End file.
